Misty Munnar : Day 2 and 3

Right after the most magnificent waterfall I’d ever seen, our appointed driver drove us to some more popular waterfalls that tourists regularly visited. But none of them came close to Vazhachal.

After some more sightseeing in the afternoon, we drove to Bethania resorts, where we had our rooms booked. We took some lunch and rested until it was time for dinner.

While the rest of my family slept, I read a book. After dinner,  we retired to our beds. I’d been up since my flight at 5:30 AM and going to bed at 10 PM meant that I slept peacefully.

.

.

.

The next morning, after breakfast and tea, we had a good look at the resort. It was built on a rugged terrain and construction work for a parking area was underway. The spectacular thing was that the Chalakkudy river ran along the resort boundary!

We’d seen the water in the night, but had just kind of ignored it. In the morning however, it looked beautiful. The rest of the resort had some fig trees. After that, we left for an even better destination, Munnar. On the way there, I saw several fig trees too.

Oh by the way, did I forget to mention that one can see bamboo, banana, pepper, and rubber plantations all around? Sorry, my bad.

From Athirapally, our car drove through the Kottamangalam orchards, where it began raining heavily. On the narrow road leading to Munnar, we dodged lazy cart drivers and jay-walkers, dashed through Perumbavoor, and a bunch of other places whose names I’ve now forgotten.

As we got closer, we went uphill, and reached a spice garden called Munnar Spices. A young man, about as old as I, or perhaps a few years older, guided us. He showed us different Ayurvedic plants and their uses, some wild pineapples, and some spices.

After that, we went elephant riding—which my guilty conscience will admit, was quite an unethical thing to do. The elephant was chained, angry, and unwilling to move. After that, we left for our hotel for an overnight stay.

While Athirapally is known for its waterfalls, Munnar is famous for its tea plantations and spice cultivation. Tea is extensively grown here, and I recognised some brands I’d seen in the UAE. Almost everywhere I looked, I saw acres and acres of tea plants being grown.

According to our driver companion, about 80% of land in Munnar is exclusively used for growing tea! Well, I won’t vouch for the authenticity of his words, but truly, these tea plantations surrounded me everywhere.

The next morning, we did some more sightseeing. We visited another garden, but this time it was fruits and flowers. We also went to an “echo point” and I shouted to the forest that I love Kerala! I picked up a flower from nearby and put it inside my book.

The driver showed us the Mattupetty Lake and Dam on the way to Eravikulam National Park, home to the Nilgiry Thar (a very rare mountain goat seen rarely by tourists). Seated inside a government bus, we climbed even more uphill. At my window seat, I kept an eye for the prized goat.

As I prayed for good luck, I saw the mountains and the greenery disappear behind a thick mist. Tough luck, I thought. I was now sure that I wouldn’t get to see it.

After a 10 minute ride in the bus, we got down. My family and I walked along the narrow road uphill and looked at the greenery down below. It was dizzying.

My paranoid mother kept pleading with me to not go closer to the edge. I obeyed her, mostly because I didn’t want her to get annoyed with me. Still, I walked a little further to have a good look at the flora of the region and found the most spectacular flowers growing up there.

From bright pink to the tiniest bluebells, I was tempted to pluck them. Had it not been for the watchful eye of the security guard, I’d have definitely done so. Don’t lecture me on the illegality of plucking flowers!

As I walked towards the bus, a thin swathe of cloud appeared ahead before me. I spread my arms and walked right through it, closing my eyes and letting the clouds kiss me. Hmmmm. Absolutely calming.

We sat in the bus that was supposed to take us downhill. I had hoped that the sights en route wouldn’t be ruined by the mist—and this time, I was lucky. The bus went right through tea plantations, dashing past the mountains, and dodging other buses on the narrow road.

I saw the clouds that kissed me surround the mountains opposite mine—creating the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen. The ever elusive goat had escaped my eyes, but the clouds and the tea plantations more than made up for it.

.

.

.

At night, we had a hearty North Indian style dinner, and prepared to go to bed. Sigh, three days out of a seven had already ended in Kerala.